Justice News

Aurora Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Provide Material Support to ISIL

CHICAGO — An Aurora man pleaded guilty today to a federal charge that he conspired to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization in the Middle East.

JONAS M. EDMONDS, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and one count of making a materially false statement to a law enforcement officer regarding an offense involving international terrorism. The terrorist organization is identified in a written plea agreement as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, commonly referred to as ISIL, ISIS, or the Islamic State.

The guilty plea was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; John P. Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Jonas Edmonds has been detained in federal custody since his arrest in March by members of the Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force. According to the plea agreement, he and his cousin, HASAN EDMONDS, devised a plan for Hasan Edmonds to travel to the Middle East for the purpose of waging violence on behalf of ISIL. Jonas Edmonds expressed his support and excitement for Hasan Edmonds’ travel, believing that anyone who supported a mujahid (a fighter) was a mujahid himself, the plea agreement states.

According to the plea agreement, Jonas Edmonds intended to carry out an act of terrorism in the United States after Hasan Edmonds had departed for the Middle East. In particular, the cousins devised a plan for Jonas Edmonds to carry out an armed attack at the U.S. Army National Guard base in Joliet. At the time the scheme was hatched in March, Hasan Edmonds was a member of the Army National Guard and had been training at the Joliet installation. The plan called for Hasan Edmonds to provide military uniforms for Jonas Edmonds to wear during the attack, as well as a list of officers for Jonas Edmonds to kill, according to the plea agreement.

Jonas Edmonds, a U.S. citizen from west suburban Aurora, faces a maximum sentence of 15 years for the material support charge, and up to eight years for the false statement count. U.S. District Judge John Z. Lee scheduled a sentencing hearing for Jan. 27, 2016, at 2:00 p.m.

Hasan Edmonds, a U.S. citizen from of Aurora, is charged in a superseding information with one count of conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 14, 2015, at 11:00 a.m. before Judge Lee.

The Joint Terrorism Task Force is comprised of Special Agents of the FBI, officers of the Chicago Police Department, and representatives from an additional 20 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Illinois State Police, the Aurora Police Department and the Illinois National Guard provided significant assistance in the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Barry Jonas and John Kness of the Northern District of Illinois; and Trial Attorney Lolita Lukose of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.